General Assembly adjourns without budget agreement; special session to be scheduled

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia’s divided part-time Legislature, unable to reach an agreement on a budget, opted to adjourn Saturday and reconvene later at the call of the governor to finish the year’s work.

Both chambers agreed to a resolution Saturday that allows the budget bills and a wide range of other measures that were still being negotiated to be carried over to a special session.

“We’re going to let everybody take a take a day or two and put our heads together on Monday or Tuesday and get back with everybody next week on a specific schedule,” Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin told reporters. “But we’re going to keep things moving. We’ve made good progress.”

The Democrat-controlled Senate and Republican-controlled House passed their respective spending plans in February, and a conference committee has been meeting to negotiate a compromise to send to Youngkin.

The House and Senate budget bills for fiscal years 2022-2024 contained some similarities, including raises for state and state-funded employees and hefty deposits to the state’s reserves and retirement system. But they were about $3 billion apart on tax policy, which also resulted in differing allocations to certain government services.

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